Daily Current Affairs – 31-03-2025

Tamil Nadu

NAKSHA Capacity Building Program

® Ministry of Rural Development conducted the second phase of capacity building under the NAKSHA program. ® NAKSHA stands for National geospatial Knowledge-based land Survey of urban HabitAtions. ® It is a city survey initiative under the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP). ® Aims to reform urban land surveys using advanced geospatial technologies. ® Executed by the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development.

Restoration of RoDTEP Scheme

® The Centre has restored the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme effective June 1, 2025. ® The scheme benefits units under Advance Authorisation, Export Oriented Units (EOUs), and Special Economic Zones (SEZs). ® RoDTEP refunds taxes and duties not covered under other rebate schemes, with benefit rates ranging from 0.3% to 4.3%. ® India is negotiating Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the US and the EU, while an FTA with the UK has already been concluded.

Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) 2025 Launched

® Union Jal Shakti Minister Shri C.R. Patil launched Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) 2025 in Delhi. ® It is India’s largest rural sanitation survey, covering 21,000 villages across 761 districts in 34 States/UTs. ® Objective: To assess the on-ground status of rural sanitation, focusing on sustaining ODF Plus Model outcomes under SBM-G Phase II. ® Conducted by an independent agency using a structured assessment framework. Evaluation based on four key components: ® Service-Level Progress (SLP) ® Direct Observation of Sanitation Status ® Functionality of Sanitation Infrastructure (e.g., PWMUs, FSM, GOBARdhan plants) ® Citizen Feedback via mobile app ® Includes geo-fencing and tech-enabled survey tools for transparency and community engagement. ® Assessment Framework and Swachhata Chronicles Vol. III were also released during the launch.

RBI’s 6th Remittances Survey (2023–24)

® India received record inward remittances of $118.7 billion in 2023–24, surpassing FDI inflows and financing over half of the merchandise trade deficit. ® U.S. is the top source, contributing 27.7% (up from 23.4% in 2020–21). ® U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and Singapore together account for 51.2% of inflows, overtaking the GCC countries’ 37.9% share. ® Transfers above ₹ 5 lakh made up 29% of total remittance value. ® Digital channels handled 73.5% of remittance transactions. ® Average cost of sending $200 to India is 4.9%, below the global average (6.65%) but above the SDG target of 3%. ® Top recipient states: Maharashtra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu (51% combined share). ® Low recipient states: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan (less than 6% combined share).